


Epoch

by Lunaryse



Category: Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Eventual Romance, F/M, Sad and Beautiful, Tragic Romance, lightis, noctlight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-23 15:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6120223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunaryse/pseuds/Lunaryse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Noctis Lucis Caelum. The heir to the throne of the Lucis kingdom, and he takes his duty as heir very seriously and cares dearly for his kingdom, and those who lives in it.  This obviously makes him a remarkable figure for the Lucian people.</p><p>Lightning Claire Farron. A woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and because of this she found herself at the other end of the stick, on the side of Niflheim: Lucis' enemy.<br/>At this point, the woman wasn't aware of how being on this side of the war could affect her so badly, but not until she crossed paths with Mr. Caelum, did she realise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter I: Her

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tessa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tessa/gifts).



It was almost dusk: eventide. Noctis had just a bit of time to himself before he had to attend only one of the things he dreaded. Meetings. This one, just so happened to have a little before and after-party, and thanks to Noctis' father, he had to attend _both._ Practically anything that required Noctis to socialise with others, he detested. He would not like to consider himself an introvert and unsociable every time somebody like Ignis would point it out to him, but he knows it, although he denies it. As Prince, and heir to the Lucian throne, although he hates them, he takes his duties very seriously, but can at times be neglect them if he doesn't agree. It's just a matter of time before he will have to take the place of King Regis, when the time comes. As much as Regis wishes for Noctis to not suffer from the burdens of becoming king, it is inevitable.

So, with all of these duties that he will have to fulfill, this comes with the package. This was Noctis' first social event in a while, therefore he didn't have much right to complain, in which he'd sometimes do to Ignis (in particular). Although, he is trying to minimise his light grouches, now that he is finally maturing.

Noctis took a glance to the clock upon his bedroom wall, and sighed briefly afterwards. He knew he had to get ready soon, and lounging around could come later. Noctis leaned forward to stand, and dusted the back of his cropped trousers and made his way to his wardrobe. He barely had any clothes, and the ones he did have were all in black, with the exception of his white shirt for formal occasions like this one. His father, Regis, attempted to brighten his dress code, but tenacious Noctis wasn't having it, so he learnt to deal with it and left the young man be.

He took the white shirt from his silly excuse of a prince's wardrobe and threw it upon his bed. He found his black blazer that had been untouched for probably weeks, that had camouflaged in between his _vast array_ of black clothing. Throwing his blazer and tie onto the pile along with the shirt, followed by the black trousers, he closed his wardrobe and brought his clothes into the shower room with him. He liked to wash before he went to a social event, as he'd probably be too tired to wash when he came back, and he treasures his slumber time dearly.

* * *

"Noctis," called Ignis from outside of his washroom, tapping lightly onto the glassy door with the back of his index finger. "I heard you turn on the shower a _good_ half hour ago, I believe it's best that you get dressed. You have under an hour to be ready." Ignis suggested, in his always polite manner. Noctis liked to spend long times in the shower. He usually gets lost within his own thoughts, and the hot steam and warm atmosphere makes it hard to leave. He could most likely spend an hour in the shower before thinking of washing and getting out. "Have you any patience, Ignis?" Noctis retaliated, becoming frustrated that he had to rush himself now.

To his left was the lavished bar of soap, which was made from his much-loved ingredient: mint. It was easy to get natural resources in Lucis, and mint has always been his favourite. Although, he did also like earthy smells. He rubbed the lather across his body, but was rushed into doing so as he knew that Ignis was waiting just outside for him.

Once he was rinsed, Noctis turned the nob to halt the flow of water and then padded himself dry. Noctis met with Ignis back in his bedroom only a few minutes later. He continued to pad his hair dry, and took a seat on his bed. "Were you sleeping in the shower, Noctis?" Ignis questioned, then straightening a crease in his blazer. "No," he responded with an aggravated tone. This was normal for Ignis to hear from Noctis. "We have fifty minutes to get into Crystallum. You wouldn't want to be late," Ignis stated, folding his arms and taking Noctis' towel from his shoulders to put away. "Fifty minutes to get to the _before-_ party, not the official meeting." Noctis corrected him, Ignis then re-adjusted his glasses slightly. "You do realise that we have to be there at the before-party, right? To greet the people?" Ignis asked. Noctis stood up, walking past his royal adviser. "I'm well aware," he suggested, leaving Ignis alone in his bedroom. The man could only shake his head and sigh to himself at the adolescent behavior of Noctis, recently. But, he knew that when it came to situations like those, Noctis would always be considered 'moody' or 'hormonal', which in some cases, he were.

* * *

His father wasn't there to greet him at all that day. Regis had a separate car he took to Noctis, which was Noctis' own preference as he became more independent. However, Regis would always be there to give his son that reassuring nod or pat on the back before they went on outings or other official businesses, but on that day in particular, that wasn't the case. Noctis shrugged it off and proceeded with his day, thinking nothing more of it. The car journey was no more than a few minutes, as the Crystallum hall was only the next building across, but the cars were necessary for the amount of people attending, and they were always used for formal events.

The before-party or gathering was just starting and Noctis found it uncomfortable and socially awkward to be greeted by so many officials he hadn't even known. They'd go up to him for a handshake and even try to start conversation with him. Noctis being Noctis, he tried to stop talking with them, by sometimes turning them down politely via body language or just pretending not to hear them all together.

The ground floor had too many people, which made the room feel hot and too compact and tight. Noctis was then relieved to find a set of stairs in which he could walk up to. Fortunately for him, there were much fewer people up there, so he could have at least a little time by himself, in a more quiet and solitary space.

He found himself wondering around the bend, either staring out the window to the moon or to the art and painting on the wall. As he followed along, his eyes had came across a figure, a female. This was nobody he _had_ ever seen before, or anyone who looked anything alike her there in Lucis. This woman had full, shimmering roseate hair that swayed to her front, with a fringe that gradually flopped in front of her right eye. Her skin was pale, but peachy and her body lean but toned, which complimented the violet dress she wore. When she turned her head, her eyes coincidentally aligned with his own. A lustrous cyan, were her eyes, and Noctis was entranced. The woman shyly backed away after seeing Noctis' starstruck gaze, and embarrassingly turned the other way to try not bring any more attention to herself.

Noctis was shy. As much as he hated to admit it, he were, and often tries to mask it with his 'cool guy' facade. The woman carried on walking around the bend, staring up down and around everything that was happening, but tried to avoid meeting eyes with Noctis. He found himself walking the opposite direction, so he could keep up with her from across the room. Every so often, he'd take a glance at her, then looking away quickly as if he never had. With the odd turn of her head at some moments, he felt her gaze on him; even if it were only for a second. Noctis returned this to her, making each glance longer than the last, and then absorbing even more of her features. From the stars in her eyes to the frills in her dress. Although he was so tempted, he tried not to look at her so often, and if he did so, then very smoothly so she could barely notice.

Only a few instants later did they both found that they met again but on the other side of the room. Before they could cross paths, Noctis made a remark. "The art is quite beautiful," he stated, hoping to catch the rose-haired woman's attention. With this, she turned around to Noctis then swiftly onto the art. Noctis felt the need to speak to her, find out where's she from, who she is, and why she's here. He hadn't found anybody interesting, with the exception being her. He'd never felt the need for such things before, but he thought to make his night just a _bit_ more interesting.

"Yes," she replied, her voice deeper than anticipated and more controlled than maybe even Noctis'. He then attempted to improve his demeanor to appear more confident. "You seemed to have taken a liking to it. Do you have a favourite?" Noctis asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as he could. The woman looked around to find the piece she had liked the most, taking only a couple of moments to find it. "I like the one of the goddess, over there." Noctis took a glance, but the art wasn't his main concern. "Do you do art?" He asks again, but tries to slow down the speed between each question to not appear odd. "No, I don't. I just like to look," she stated, and then Noctis found the need to lean on the barrier. "What do you do?" He questioned, momentarily looking down and then back to her when he heard her reply. "I don't do much, at all. I don't know what my purpose is... I was hoping the 'light' would tell me." With those words, he became more fond of her. "You can see it too?" He questioned inquisitively, looking at her directly, and the woman returns the stare, with further interest. "Yes. I don't know much of it, but I could see it. I feel like... it means something, in my life." She states, closing her hands together, then rubbing her wrist. "I feel the same."

The woman then appeared to be more eager, taking one step closer to the man. "Have we met?" She questioned, eyeing him, his body, his face, then furrowing her brows. "I'm not sure, but I know I haven't seen you, at least not in this reality..." He says, honestly. "May I ask for your name?"

The woman paused for a moment, then replying with, "you can call me Lightning." Noctis unintentionally raised one brow at the name. He found it alluring and unusual. "I'm Noctis, but Noct for short." He explained with a subtle smile. Lightning widened her eyes, then placing her right hand on her chest. "Prince Noctis, my greatest apologies for not realising sooner." She admitted, bowing down slightly as a sign of respect for him. "No need for the formalities, Lightning. At ease."

With that, she stood back up with her normal posture, nodding slightly to him. "It must be so difficult being in your position, Noctis. With all this craziness about the crystal going on, and you're put dead-center in the middle of it all..." She explained, lowering her eyes slightly as if she felt sorry for the prince. Noctis couldn't help but chuckle. "I just want to protect my people. I am glad that this peace-treaty between Niflheim and Lucis is happening. It'll make my time as King less difficult, and with that, I'll make better decisions for everyone." He stated. "Speaking of which, where are you from?" At this question, Lightning began to panic almost, and started looking around for something to change the topic to.

The voices downstairs became louder, so he assumed that the meeting was beginning. He looked back up to Lightning, taking a couple of steps backwards. "Duty calls. Will I see you after the meeting? There's something I'd wish to tell you." Noctis asked, in hopes that he'd be able to further discuss some things with her. With this, Lightning could only feel relieved. After a subtle sigh, she replied with, "Return here to find out." Lightning gave Noctis a subtle wink, to reassure him that she _would_ be there when he returned. When Noctis turned around away from her, her smile faded almost simultaneously. For the past hour, she had been mapping the entire perimeter, and it her time to return. Briefly removing her heels, she jumped onto the railing and tapped the piece above the painting of the Goddess Etro. She looked around quickly to see if any guards had made their way upstairs yet and the coast was clear. The panel was lifted by an outside source, and she was let through, the night sky being the only light now. It was raining, but not the soft kind, the harsh one. It was as if a storm was brewing in the air of Lucis.

She slipped her set of heels back on, her feet already wet and cold, thanks to the weather. Around her were the Niflheim soldiers, and Aldercapt's right-hand-man made his way towards her: Ardyn Izunia, the purple-haired joker that Lightning hated so much. "Did you get the job done?" He asked her, giving her a ridiculous smirk that she couldn't stand about him. "Do we have to do this, Ardyn?" Lightning questioned him, sounding more vulnerable than she usually had. "Aw, what's up, Light? Having second thoughts already? We've come this far, we can't stop _now_." Ardyn told her, but in a mocking tone like he always had. Lightning furrowed her brows. "I'll ask, again, though... Did you get the job done?" He repeated his words. "Answer mine, first," Lightning retaliated. "Isn't there another way? Can't we just go through with the treaty? We are in a bad enough situation as it is!" Ardyn swiftly made his way towards the woman and held her chin in one hand. "Lightning... Keep speaking like that and I will slit your throat." He whispered. She flicked her head back, away from his fingers and began to clench her fists. "You _agreed_ , to do this. Don't forget that. We didn't have to take you in, we could have left you. Question me again, and I'll make sure that you're the one setting the bombs off." As much as she hated all that Ardyn said, he was right. She agreed, and it pains her that she did. Only now when the time was coming did she realise what a mess she had gotten herself into. "I mapped most of it..." Lightning muttered, turning away from Ardyn. " _Most_ of it? What about _all_ of it, like we planned?" Lightning looked back at Ardyn, but like a child who did something they weren't supposed to, and she felt guilty in more ways than one. "I got... sidetracked." She admitted, thinking back to her talk with Noctis. "Sidetracked?" Ardyn laughed. "You hear _that_ , everyone?! We now don't have a full map because Ms. Lightning, over here, didn't map the entire goddamn building!" He spat at her, making the anger boil inside of her, and the worst part was, she couldn't retaliate in her position. "I'd suggest you take those contacts out. I need to download the half-map," he spoke, still annoyed but with a less angry tone. Lightning turned away to take them out of her eyes to hand to him, and she was glad to do so. They irritated her eyes, not only did she hate things touching her eyes, it affected her vision and felt horrible to wear for her. "I think you'll need to get some better ones, they really burn the eyes." Lightning stated. "That only really happens when it's uploading too... Wait-" Ardyn began, then turned to Lightning with the look of horror in his eyes. "You were not downloading  _and_ uploading at the same time were you?" He questioned her, and Lightning couldn't respond because she never knew of this; no one had told her beforehand. "Sir," one of the soldiers intervene. "The contacts are set manually, who ever set them must have left the upload setting on." Ardyn began to worry greatly at how terrible that night was going for him, and that time Lightning wasn't to blame. He saw that someone was in fact uploading the data from the contacts onto their device, and this could foil their entire plan and expose everything prematurely. Hurriedly, he switched it off and pressed his finger to his earpiece. "Mission failure, I repeat, mission failure. Plan B will have to take action." Lightning turned him to face her. "What's Plan B?" She questioned, the worry buried deeper within her. "Plan B, Ledolas Aldercapt takes action now, and you? You'll have to be on the infiltration team. You're going to steal the crystal."


	2. Chapter II: Him

Lightning couldn't stop trembling as she crept down to the chambers of Crystallum Hall; this was the last place she wanted to be. She could hear the commotion happening on the floor above her, and she could only think of what Noctis was thinking at that moment. She pleaded to the Goddess, that she would be able to escape without being caught, as it could spell disaster for them all, and she was walking on thin ice as it is. She had a mission she must complete, so she had no room for regret, especially when there is no turning back now. As much as she hated it, she had no choice, so she pressed on, her now eidolith in hand. A beautiful red glow radiated from the crystal-like catalyst to her beloved summon, Odin. She had relied on him this time, to help her get through this.  
As much as she dreaded this situation, t'was something she could not undo. Lightning was loyal to her word.

A couple of Niflheim soldiers followed behind her, their armor making way too much noise for her liking. Not everybody could be favoured with her stealth.

The sounds from the floor above her began to grow louder and louder, and this allowed Lightning to move more hastily and not worry too much about the noise she made. The digital map she had around her wrist was- quite frankly- useless. She hadn't mapped the entire building, and the hall's systems were shutting down for security. Oh, how frustrated she was the she were so easily distracted.

She pressed her hand against the dark marble wall and let the vibrations pass through to her fingertips. Starting intently at the map, she bit her cheek as the incomplete map shone the words: "no data".

_Well done, Lightning._

"Farron, why aren't we moving? We don't have all the time in the world here." A soldier questioned her, peering over her shoulder to the map. "The entire thing hasn't even been downloaded?!" The same male's voice was too loud for her liking, and he got too close.

"Don't you see I'm aware of that?" She tried to keep her cool, and pushed on forward, although she had no clue where she was going. To her surprise, the soldier grabbed her by her solider and pressed her against the wall. "You're jeopardizing the whole mission because of your arrogance!"

His eyes pierced into hers, but hers much more narrow. Swiftly, she took his wrist and twisted it the other way. "Don't touch me," she muttered, continuing on, in search for another corridor or turn to take. Those of Niflheim always managed to tick her off in some way, shape or form- the military in particular.

As much as she would hate to admit, she was terribly lost. It was too dark to see well at all, and each turn took her to another set of turns with took her to somewhere she that looked the same to turn she had just taken.

Swallowing her pride, with a click, the map watch came off and she tossed it to the rude soldier.

"You do it," she said, fed up of losing herself and wasting everybody else's time. She wasn't even supposed to be doing this, but because she did her job wrong, Ardyn thought it a good "punishment", even though it cost him the success of the mission.

Much brighter lights shone from behind the party, and everybody turned around to investigate. Lucian soldiers.

"Soldiers from Niflheim!" One shouts. Lightning contemplated whether to run or fight. Which would have the best outcome?

The Niflheim soldiers started shooting frantically, few dropping like flies as the bullet pierced through their armor.

"Odin!" With what little space she had underground, she shot her eidolith, which shone a bright illumination throughout. "Hold them off!"

Lightning dashed, finding her way through the underground, letting her instincts act. She felt bullet fly past her, but none of them managed to touch her. He heard their cries as Odin destroyed each one in a massacre like he did.

Her hands collided with a door. Tapping it up and down, she searched for a control panel, as it was too dark to see with her eyes. "Come on," she muttered to herself, hoping that Odin can hold them for a long enough time.

She did not come equipped for this mission. _Damn you, Ardyn._ No change in pattern graced her fingers, and she wandered how anyone could get in at all. Probably some sort of fingerprint registration.

"I can't get in!" She yelled, hoping somebody from her party would hear and come to her aid. Nothing.

She tried to barge in with her shoulder alone, but did not succeed. The door was sealed, and she knew not of the key to open it.

As if somebody had unlocked it from the other side, the two doors moved aside. Lightning furrowed her brows, ever so skeptical of the scene before her, but there it was. The grand crystal of Lucis, with it's gorgeous, enchanting glow emitting through the air, allowing a soft atmosphere to form, although there was a miniature war going on outside its doors.

Lightning took of her glove and threw it inside, expecting some sort of laser to burn it away before her eyes, but not such thing happened.

So, quickly, she ran inside, retrieving her glove and pulled it back up to her wrist. As she paced towards the crystal, she thought of Ardyn's words.

_"Press_ **this** _crystal to other's face, you should feel a power surge through, and I need you to hold it there until you feel it stop. This is our last one, so if you lose or break it, you'll pay the ultimate price."_

Carefully, she took the crystal from her satchel, gracing it's dull and empty surface with her thumb. Exhaling once, she pressed shell to its counterpart, expecting the worst, but _no_.

Taking it away from the crystal again, she pressed onto it once more, but yet again, there was no reaction. Why wasn't it working like he said? Lightning felt a cold sweat run down her temple, and her reattempts didn't aid her at all. She felt nothing, and saw nothing happen.

She knew time was running out as she heard movement come her way. This mission went wrong in too many ways.

Putting the crystal back in her satchel, she ran towards the doors, her gunblade in hand and aimed before her eyes. With a graceful leap, she pushed off of the wall and plummeted towards the soldiers, pinning them down before her.

The escape was narrow, but there wasn't much Lightning couldn't do.  
  
  


* * *  
  
  


She was met with a dark alleyway, the sirens wailed from a distance. In her hand was this useless crystal, that didn't do its job. Or perhaps it was Ardyn who told her the wrong thing. Or maybe Lightning was too prideful to consider it being her fault. She was very careful handling it ever since she had her hands on it. She didn't understand what went wrong.

She had only tightened her grip on the crystal briefly before putting it back in the satchel. _Ardyn will be happy to hear how well it went._

She stuck to the shadows, the city was still on very high alert after the initial attack. Lightning managed to escape without a problem, but escape to somewhere that she wasn't familiar with in the slightest. After the "retrieval", Crystallum Hall was almost destroyed completely. Niflheim forces had taken it too far by firing too heavy firearms, which left the hall barely standing. Lightning wondered how many unnecessary deaths there were for this stupid crystal, and the fact that she actually retrieved nothing from the hall, made guilt grow so heavily on her. It was not a burden she needed to have.

Roaming around the perimeter of the castle was not a smart move, but there was _no_ other way to get to the rendezvous point from her location. She'd spent far too long in Insomnia, and now she wanted to leave, before she ruined something else.

The large and long gates around the castle were probably enough to keep her covered, but she stayed along the hedges anyway. She couldn't risk anything, right now.

She heard a car coming from her side, so instinctively she leaped over to the other side of the hedge, hoping that the driver hadn't noticed at all. She rest there until she saw the headlights fade away into the distance. As she looked up, she saw the orange flames and smoke from the hall above her. The city was luminous when she had first arrived, and now it was ashen and screamed to die.

Her stay in Insomnia had been brief, but she was called Lightning for a reason: it flashes bright and then fades away, and destroys whatever so happened to be around it, and today- to Insomnia's misfortune- Lightning ignited.   
  
  


* * *  
  


Noctis was in a state. He felt as if his people and country were lost completely. _Tch, Niflheim._ It was his father's mistake to allow them into Lucis for the peace treaty. _It was such a egregious decision_ , Noctis thought. Kind Regis had his hand over his chest, a misty glow from his palm. He was kneeling over, like he was holding onto his life. The young prince was flummoxed, fixed in his place. Everything that had just happened had happened so fast it was hard for Noctis to register everything. Iedolas Aldercapt. He was there and then vanished, and his men managed to kill or stun everybody in the room, except for Noctis. Was it fate, he didn't know. All he knew was that his father was desperately trying to heal himself, and he didn't know what to do about it.

"Son," he managed to say. Noctis kneeled beside him, supporting his back with his arm. "Report to the castle immediately. Gather your friends and leave. It isn't safe for you, here." Noctis thought it absurd. He had to pick up and leave his father in this state? Hell, no. "Father, you know I can't do that." Noctis attempted to get him to stand, but he refused it. "Get out of Insomnia, Noctis. I am your father, and I won't tell you again." Regis were to almost push his son away from him, so that he would leave. "I've summoned aid, you must leave!"

Noctis squeezed his fists tightly. He hated to leave, but his knew what he had to do when he saw his eye begin to darken as he beckoned.

Noctis stood up, eyed his weakened father once more, before he ran off, feeling guilt bury into him. "I'll be back," he muttered, knowing that Regis did not hear.

As he ran, he had to see his people in such a devastating state. People were scattered, panicking all around them, as the Niflheim forces made their way in to invade Insomnia: his home, and he had to abandon it for _his_ own safety. He detested the thought of it, and promised to Lucis that he'd be back. He'd be back for Lucis, and be back for his father.

* * *

"Didn't work?" The voice of Ardyn was unsettlingly quiet. Lightning knew what was to come; she had tempered him, this being the second time.  
"I pressed that to the crystal in Crystallum back and forth and no reaction was happening, sir." She died to remain respectful, although he didn't deserve a drop of it. Lightning would spit on him, if she could.  
Ardyn squeezed the crystal so hard, she swore that she saw a crack develop.

Too quickly to register, Ardyn held a knife to her throat; a breath too deep would let the steel sink into her skin. But, in turn, Lightning had the blade to her gun to the back of his neck, so, it was still nil-nil.   
"Put your blade now," he spat. "You first."  
However, the two's blades remained up, the only sound filling the air were their short breaths and the blades singing.  
"What do you think you're playing at, Lightning?" This was the most serious she had ever seen him, because most the time he'd merely mock her.   
"I told you, the crystal did nothing. What was I supposed to do? I followed your orders, _Ardyn_." The last word said with a much more serious intent.

"Fine," he said, putting the knife back to his side, Lightning also lowering hers, but not sheathing it. "Now, the crystal has been destroyed now that the hall _has_ been."  
But, Lightning thought otherwise. "The barrier over Lucis is still active, that cannot be the case."

This caused Ardyn to furrow his brows, placing his fingers to his chin. The sudden appeal in his eyes caught Lightning's attention.  
"I have a final assignment," he said, placing the crystal back in Lightning's hand. "The Lucis Castle."

* * *

Noctis didn't bother pack his things. He'd run a perimeter around the castle, then to change his clothes briefly before making his way to the garage, where he'd meet his friends: Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus.  
Within his castle borders, he felt less of a need to make haste: he wanted to check if everything was all right before he left.

He had neglected this room until now. It may have been the last time he got the opportunity to open this room.   
With his left hand, he pressed the grand door open, and its contents certainly did disappoint. The massive crystal that were to be so big and beautiful was _dead;_ lifeless _._ Noctis felt cold shivers travel to his spine as he dropped before the crystal, feeling it, for some sort of power or life left within it.   
"No," he muttered, touching Lucis' life form with his other hand, before being thrown to the floor by something that managed to have their arms around Noctis' throat, locked tight.

Noctis could barely breathe, never mind call for help. Summoning his weapons with one free arm, he directed them to himself in order to assault the enemy. They dashed the opposite direction to avoid the blades, and just in the knick of time. This gave Noctis the freedom to stand and pummel his pursuer to the ground, revealing their face in the dark of night. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who it was in such forbidden premises.  
"You?" His eyes widened initially, and then struck red before grabbing the woman's throat tighter. "What are you doing in the castle?!"  
His whole form was shaking. Shaking with anger, and a fear that he didn't understand.   
He turned to his right where a smaller crystal filled with a blue glow rested, the illuming dust of the true crystal dissolving into the air from the crack in its body. Whilst the prince's attention was momentarily diverted, Lightning elbowed him, which granted her freedom to dash for the crystal and picked it up. Still stunned by the hit, he chased after her, with the means of grabbing onto her cape. She was too fast to phase in front of.

Before he even tried, Lightning had leapt for the balcony and threw the crystal outside, but only to be caught by a Niflheim man: Ardyn.  
The man was smug at the sight of the full crystal, and was almost surprised that Lightning had actually done it.  
The helicopter in which he rode, leant to its side, Lightning then rolling onto its platform with ease.  
Noctis' initial thought was to send his blades their way, but he had missed with every shot.

If Noctis wasn't beat before, he felt the world crumble beneath him. Lightning didn't dare turn his way again. As she looked above her, she saw the remains of the Lucian barrier disintegrate. The doors of the helicopter began to shut, and Lightning was forced back into its confines.  
Ardyn was chuckling to himself as he put the crystal away for safe-keeping, ready to hand over to Aldercapt, as intended.  
"En route Niflheim," he sighed, a smile plastered to his features. "Job well done, Farron. You made up for your mistakes."  
Right then, she wanted to kill him, and that was no understatement.

"I just stole Lucis, that's nothing to be proud of." Lightning spat to him, her fists tightly closed. She felt her nails begin to embed in her palms.   
She felt awful. She had taken everything from them. Their home, their rights... By taking the crystal alone, she had destroyed Lucis.  
"Those were your orders," he spoke. "Besides, you'll have your pay when we return, then you can go back to whatever crazy place you came from."  
There was no way she could do that. As much as she wish she could, she couldn't.  
"Very good performance, by the way. I thought he'd had you for a moment there."

Lightning didn't want to remember. She remembered his face and the horrified look on it. Just for two seconds when she expected him to break or question her, he'd continued to kill her, but of course, that's what she'd deserved.   
If she'd died then and there, Lucis' crystal would be in the right hands.

Her heart was heavy. She wanted to forget this happened entirely. She wanted to wake up in Bodhum, to the sound of Serah's humming as she did the morning chores. She wanted Serah back.   
Her sister meant the world to her, and her soothing voice would always manage to make everything okay.

But, of course, she didn't deserve that pleasure. The pleasure of having everything be okay when it wasn't.  
She couldn't go back now, and the pain she suffered was deserved.   
She earned it.


End file.
